Rat guard for ship hawser



Oct. 24, 1961 J. R. CALDWELL RAT GUARD FOR SHIP HAWSER Filed Jan. 12, 1959 INVENTOR.

' JOHN R. CALDWELL A 7' TO/PNE rs m w m 3,005,436 RAT GUARD FOR SHIP HAWSER John R. Caldwell, 1747 Chestnut St., San Francisco, Calif. Filed Jan. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 786,320 3 Claims. (Cl. 114-221) This invention relates to a rat guard for ship hawsers to prevent rats from going from ship to shore or from shore to ship.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a rat guard that can be quickly and easily placed on and removed from a hawser.

Another object of my invention is to provide a rat guard that will firmly grip a hawser so that it will not slide along the hawser or cant on the hawser, permitting rats to get around the guard and either go from ship to shore or from shore to ship.

Most rat guards in use include complicated means for attachment to and locking on a hawser such as lashings, wing nuts, removable clamps and the like. Also, with most of the present rat guards it is dilficult to adjust them so that they will accommodate hawsers of various diameters. My rat guard is so constructed that it readily locks itself on a hawser and can be placed on howsers of various diameters easily and with equal efiectiveness.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the resilient locking means of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation of the resilient locking means of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the rat guard being placed on a hawser.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the rat guard in place on a hawser.

Referring now to the drawings, the guard generally indicated by the reference numeral 1 comprises a circular shield 10 having a U-shaped opening 11 formed therein. Said U-shaped opening 11 has substantially parallel sides 12 which are curved at their outer ends as indicated at 13 where said outer ends of the U-shaped opening join the periphery 14 of the shield 10. The closed end of the U-shaped opening 11 is semi-circular as indicated at 15. Said semi-circular portion 15 of the U-shaped opening is concentric with the center of said circular shield 10. Holes 16 are formed around the edge of said 'U-shaped opening 11. A resilient member 17 made of rubber, canvas, reinforced rubber, pliable plastic or the like is placed over said U-shaped opening 11. Said resilient member 17 has holes 18 formed around the periphery thereof which are in alignment with holes 16 of the shield. A U-shaped flange 19 having holes 20 in alignment with holes 16 and 18 is placed over said resilient member 17. Rivets 21 are placed through the holes 16, 18 and 20, respectively, to hold said 'U-shaped flange 19 and resilient member 17 in place on the shield. A longitudinal slit 22 is cut in said member 17. Said slit 22 terminates in a central opening 23 at the inner end of said resilient member 17. Said central opening 23 is concentric with the center of said shield 10. Radial slits 24 are cut around 4 red Stes atent O the opening 23 of the resilient member 17. Said radial slits 24 form gripping segments 25. The said member 17 terminates short of the open end of the opening 11, thus leaving the outer portion of the U-shaped opening 11 unobstructed for receiving the hawser. The outer ends of the resilient member 17 are cut to form angular shoulders as shown at 26 to assist in centering the hawser in the U-shaped opening 11. Reinforcing ribs 27 are formed in the shield to strengthen the same.

In use, the U-shaped opening 11 is placed over a hawser 28. The hawser is received in the said opening 11 and the angular shoulders 26 center the hawser with respect to slit 22. Pressure exerted on the guard forces the guard 1 over the hawser 28 through the slit 22 as shown in FIG. 5. The angular shoulders 26 of the resilient member 17 tend to guide the hawser into the slit 22. The slit 22 of the member 17 is thus opened, as shown in FIG. 5, and the guard 1 is forced over the hawser 28 until the hawser is centered in the circular opening 23, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. The diameter of the circular opening 23 must always be smaller than the diameter of the hawser 28 so that the segments 25 will be expanded as shown in FIG. 4 to firmly grip the hawser. The gripping segments 25, together with the shoulders 29, are extended by the hawser as shown in FIG. 4, to hold the guard in position substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hawser. The gripping segments 25 and the shoulders 29 also bind the hawser in the central opening 23 and prevent the said guard from slipping down the hawser or from positioning itself other than at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the hawser.

If desirable, metal grommets 30 are stamped into the shield and a bridle 31 is fastened through the holes of the grommets 30 and tied to the hawser to assist in holding the guard in position on the hawser. When it is desired to remove the guard from the hawser, all that is necessary is to pull the same with sufficient force to cause the resilient member 17 to open along the slit 22, permitting the guard to disengage itself from the hawser.

It is seen from the above description that the guard can be easily and quickly placed over or removed from a ships hawser; the construction of the guard is such that it will at all times maintain itself on the hawser at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the hawser and also the said guard will be firmly gripped on the hawser to prevent the same from sliding along the hawser or from falling ofi the hawser.

It is to be realized that the form of the invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the attached claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rat guard comprising a circular shield having a 'U-shaped opening formed therein; the closed end of said opening being semi-circular and concentric with the center of the shield; a resilient member covering the U-shaped opening; said resilient member having a central opening therein concentric with the center of the shield, radial slits around said central opening forming gripping segments and a slit out along the median line of said resilient member.

2. A rat guard comprising a shield, a U-shaped opening in said shield; the closed end of said opening being semi-circular in form and said semi-circular portion being concentric with the center of the shield; a resilient memher in said opening; said resilient member having a median slit formed therein and having a circular opening therein concentric with the center of said shield; the said resilient member around said circular opening having radial slits to form gripping segments therein.

3. A circular shield having a U-shaped opening therein; the closed end of said opening being concentric with the center of said shield; said opening being covered -by a resilient member; said resilient member having a circular opening therein concentric with the center of said shield;

slits extending radially around said circular opening forming gripping segments; the said resilient member having a slit along the median line thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,486,417 Cheely Mar. 11, 1924 1,744,834 Maynard Jan. 28, 1930 1,988,900 Heltzel Jan. 22, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 599,050 Great Britain Mar. 3, 1948 

